Railroad-crossing gate



Jan. 19-, 1926.

E. E. BEECHER RAILROAD CROSSING GATE Filed July '7, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mmvron EDWARD 1f. BEECHER WITNESSES A TTORNEYS MXW E. E. BEECHE R RAILROAD CROSSING GATE Jan. 19 1926.

Filed July 7, 1924 2 Shuts-Sheet I mvmron EDWARD E. BEEGHER WITNESSES Patented Jan. 19, 1926.

EDWARD BEECHER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

RAILROAD-CROSSING GATE.

Application filed July 7, 1924.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD E. BEECHER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, United States of America, have invented a new and improved Railroad-Crossing Gate, of which the foilowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

The present invention has relation to gates and appertains particularly to rail road grade crossing gates and means for operating the same primarily for the pur pose of securing the maximum degree of safety to trafiic crossing the railroad right of way, and secondarily to relieve the railroad of responsibility for accidents where the traffic fails to observe the generally recognized regulations.

Many of the accidents occurring at railroad grade crossings, are directly due to the present means of operating or controlling the gates, as it hasbeen the general practice up to the present time, to first lower the set of gates at one side of the railroad right of way and subsequently lower the other set at the opposite side thereof, whereby to permit the escape of traflic caughtbehind the set of gates first closed. If a vehicle: approaching from the side upon which the gates are still open, attempts to cross the right of way and is struck, the railroad is held accountablethereby imputing legal blame to the party which in reality is not morally at fault.

lt is therefore the outstanding object of the present invention to provide means for controlling railroad crossing gates which insures the maximum degree of safety to the traffic crossing therailroad right of way providing the recognized trafiic regulations are strictly adhered to and observed.

As a further objectthe invention comprehends means oi operating railroad crossing gates which does not materially increase the cost of installation or revision of the con trolling means therefor which are already installed.

With the above recited and other objects in view, the invention resides in the novel construction set forth in the following specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that the right is reserved to embodiments other Serial No. 724,681.

than those actually illustrated herein to the full extent indicated by the general meaning of the terms in which the claims are on pressed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a railroad crossing with parts broken away and shown in section to disclose the underlying structure, said view further illustrating all o'tthe gates in raised position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the gates which are initially lowered in their lowered position in accordance with the method of ope-rating.

Fig. 3 is a similiar view illustrating all oi the gates in lowered position.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, 10 designates the.railroadright oi way which is intersected by the grade crossing 11. A set or pair of gates 12 and 13 are arranged at one side of the right of way 10 and a set or pair of gates 14 and 15 are arranged at the opposite side of the right of way, said gates being mounted upon the usual bearing members 16 for vertical swinging movement from a horizontal. closed position to a vertical open POSltlOTE, or vice versa. As hereinbelore explained. under the present practice the gates 12 and 13 at one side of the right of way are siniut taneously operated and thc gates 141 and 15 at the opposite side of the right o'l way are simultai'ieously operated so that the set or pair at one side are firstlowored and the set or pair at the opposite side are subsequently lowered. In contradistinction to this the present invention contemplates a means of connection between the gates 12 and 15 for simultaneously operating said gates, which, according to the spirit of the present invention are the first to be lowered. Likewise the gates 18 and 14 are operativcly connected together and are controlled independently from the gates'12 and 15 whereby the gates 13 and 1 1 in accordance with the present method are simultaneously lowered subsequently to the lowering of the gates 12 and 15.

It is, of course to be understood that the means hereinafter described for controlling and operating the gates is merely illustrative of one means of accomplishing the object of i the present invention and is in no Way intended as a restriction or limitation. The

specific means illustrated for operating and controlling the gates consists of a lever 1.7 fulermned as at 18 and provided with an arm 19 which is operatively connected by a connecting rod 20 to the free end of the radial arm 21 secured to a rotatable shaft 22 transversely disposed with respect the right of way. The shaft 22 is provided with radial arms 2i; and 2t secured thereto for movement therewith and respectively disposed at opposite sides of the right of way. The arm 23 is connected by a. connecting rod 25 with the arm 26 of a bell crank 27, the remaining arm 28 of which is connected by a connecting rod 29 with the arm 30 carried by the shaft 31 of the gate 12. The arm 2i is connected by a. connecting rod 32 to the arm 33 of a bell crank ill, the remaining arm 35 of which is connected by a connecting rod 36 to the arm 37 attached to the shaft 38 of the gate 15. A second operating and controlling lever 4:0 is fulcrumed as at ell and is provided with an arm which is connected by a tionnecting rod ill with an arm el-LL secured to and movable with a rotary shaft l5 arranged trans versely beneath the right of way 10. The shaft is operatively connected with the gates 13 and Ll by arms 46 and 41:7, connecting rods 18 and 49, bell cranks 5t) and 51 and connecting rods 52 and 53 which are respeetlvcly connected to operating arms 5&- and 55 secured to the shafts 5G and 57 of the gates 13 and ll.

It thus follows that the gate-man initially operates the lever 17. to effect the lowering of the gates 12 and 15. This intercepts the tratlic on the right hand side of the road in both directions while the gates 13 and 1st remain open to alford an exit for the tratiic on the right of way 10 behind which the gates 12 and 15 have been closed. If the trallie intercepted by the initially closed gates 12 and 15 observes the generally recognized traliic regulations to remain on the righthand side of the road in the direction of travel, accidents will be avoided but on the other hand if a. vehicle fails to observe the tra'tlic regulations and attempts to go to the left of the road and around the gates 12 and 15, the responsibility of the accident rests upon such a violator. After the tratlic remaining on the right of way 10 and behind which the gates 12 and 1.5 have been closed have passed through the exit between the ends of the initially closed gates 12 and 15, the lever i0 is operated to lower the gates 13 and 14, as illustrated in Fig.

The means of controlling or operating railroad crossing gates in which a set or pair of gates are arranged at opposite sides of the railroad right of way, consists essentially in ellecting the closure of one gate of each set of gates on the opposite sides of the right of way and leaving the remaining gates of each .sct open whereby the trallic approaching the crossing on the right hand side of the roadway is intercepted and whereby the remaining open gates afford a means of exit for any vehicles which are upon and crossing the railroad right of way, after which the remaining gates are closed.

From the foregoing it will thus be seen that an improved means of operatii'lg railroad crossing gates has been devised which allords the maximum degree of safety to the trallie crossing the right of way and which further tends to place the responsibility for violation of the trallic regulations.

I claim:

1. In a railroad crossing the combination w th a. pair of gates pivoted at each side of the track, the pivots of the gates being provided with arms, of parallel shafts extending transversely of and across the track and each provided with arms, connections between the arms of one transverse shaft and the arms of the pivots of diagonally arranged gates, connections between the arms of the other transverse shaft and the arms of the pivots of the other diagonally arranged gates, and means for rocking each transverse shaft.

2. In a railroad crossing, the combination with a pair of pivoted gates at each side of the track, the pivots of the gates being provided with arms of a parallel shaft cxtending transversely of and across the trac and each provided with arms, connect-ions between the arms ol. one shaft and the arms of the pivots of diagonally disposml gates, connections between the arms of the other shaft and the arms of the pivots of the other diagonally disposed gates, each connection consisting of a bell crank and two rods pivoted to the bell crank one of the rods being pivoted to a shaft arm and the other one to a. pivot arm, and levers connected with the shafts for rocking them.

El YARD E. ll Ii l lt lllltlt.

till 

